15.07.10 RH P-type Transparent

Research

p-Type Transparent Conducting Oxide/n-Type Semiconductor Heterojunctions for Efficient and Stable Solar Water Oxidation

Chen, L. et al. p-Type Transparent Conducting Oxide / n-Type Semiconductor Heterojunctions for Efficient and Stable Solar Water Oxidation. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2015, DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5b03536 (2015).

Scientific Achievement

Efficient charge conduction from the light absorber to the water oxidation catalyst was realized with a transparent, hole-conducting oxide.

Significance & impact

P-type transparent conducting oxides (p-TCOs) coupled to semiconductor absorbers create efficient and stable water oxidation photoanodes with predicted multi-year operational stability

Top: Schematic showing the efficient transfer of photo-excited holes from the light absorber, through the transparent p-type oxide layer, to the water oxidation catalyst; and a transmission electron microscopy image of the absorber/p-TCO.

Bottom: Solar driven water oxidation performance of 25 mA·cm−2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE is among the highest reported for a Si-based photoanode; inset shows stable operation for at least 100 hours.

Reprinted with permission from Loiudice, A. et al. Bandgap Tunability in Sb-Alloyed BiVO4Quaternary Oxides as Visible Light Absorbers for Solar Fuel Applications. Advanced Materials, DOI: 10.1002/adma.201502361 (2015).  Copyright (20… — Reprinted with permission from Loiudice, A. et al. Bandgap Tunability in Sb-Alloyed BiVO4Quaternary Oxides as Visible Light Absorbers for Solar Fuel Applications. Advanced Materials, DOI: 10.1002/adma.201502361 (2015). Copyright (2015) WILEY.

Adapted from Chen, L. et al. p-Type Transparent Conducting Oxide / n-Type Semiconductor Heterojunctions for Efficient and Stable Solar Water Oxidation. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2015, DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5b03536.  Copyright (… — Adapted from Chen, L. et al. p-Type Transparent Conducting Oxide / n-Type Semiconductor Heterojunctions for Efficient and Stable Solar Water Oxidation. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2015, DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5b03536. Copyright (2015) American Chemical Society.

Research Details

NiCo2O4 was used as the p-TCO, with Si and InP as model light absorbers.
The solid-solid interface between the p-TCO and photoanode was optimized for effective hole transport to the catalyst.
Stability evaluation was performed by in situ Raman spectroscopy monitoring of the NiCo2O4structure and by ultrasensitive detection of corrosion products.

Contact: jwager@lbl.gov